IN PICS: White House Goes Pink

Tourists did a double take when they passed by the White House on Thursday. That's because, for one evening, one side of the president's official residence was lit up in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The White House is seen lit pink to observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Washington October 24, 2013.

White House spokesman Jay Carney says more than 230,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and thousands will die from the disease.

Carney put in a plug for breast cancer screenings and other free preventive services available under the new health care law. And he noted that starting next year, insurance companies will be barred from denying anyone coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition, like breast cancer.